Somalian pirates-a different perspective

[Biggs3535]

You conservatives can throw out stupid buzzwords like "bleeding heart", but it doesn't hide the fact that you are exhibiting black and white thinking

As has already been said, there is a difference in stealing a loaf of bread to feed your family and holding someone hostage at gunpoint for money.

Nobody is exhibiting black and white thinking, but your reading comprehension sucks so bad you cannot understand that.

[GhostRider]

You conservatives can throw out stupid buzzwords like "bleeding heart", but it doesn't hide the fact that you are exhibiting black and white thinking

there is a difference in stealing a loaf of bread to feed your family and holding someone hostage at gunpoint for money.

So, stealing is ok as long as guns are involved?  If the person steals the loaf of bread at gunpoint, is that ok or not???

[TheGladiator]

which is a clear indication of an uneducated opinion. �

Says the guy who questions the difference in difficulty of farming and stealing.

Pontificate on, but trying to justify capturing humans at gunpoint is pathetic.

The noble causes that the ransom benefits:

From CNN...

In countries where the majority of the population lives on less than $2 a day, the ransoms are considerable amounts of money.

And the money is often splashed out on flashy Humvees, flat-screen TVs and more weapons.

Visiting pirates in the swamps of the Niger Delta, we were taken to the commander's new home.

Surrounded by mud huts in the mangroves, a generator powered a refrigerator filled with bottles of champagne that the men drank as they played on their imported pool table.



More....


With their attacks, pirates are challenging not just international shipping lanes but Africa's rule of law.

The pirates are now operating hundreds of miles from their bases.

Somali pirates operate freely along the coastlines of Kenya and Tanzania, with the potential to threaten tourists on the beaches. In March, Somalis hijacked a yacht and its crew of seven off the Seychelles.[/i]






http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/04/08/piracy.africa/

[Biggs3535]

You conservatives can throw out stupid buzzwords like "bleeding heart", but it doesn't hide the fact that you are exhibiting black and white thinking

there is a difference in stealing a loaf of bread to feed your family and holding someone hostage at gunpoint for money.

So, stealing is ok as long as guns are involved?  If the person steals the loaf of bread at gunpoint, is that ok or not???

Unbelievable.

I'm done with the Schizo arguments from you.

[GhostRider]

You conservatives can throw out stupid buzzwords like "bleeding heart", but it doesn't hide the fact that you are exhibiting black and white thinking

there is a difference in stealing a loaf of bread to feed your family and holding someone hostage at gunpoint for money.

So, stealing is ok as long as guns are involved? If the person steals the loaf of bread at gunpoint, is that ok or not???

Unbelievable.

I'm done with the Schizo arguments from you.

LOL!  Your logic has hit the wall, and you're too stubborn to admit it.  As an added benefit, you get to prove your lack of understanding by calling the posts you don't understand "schizo".  Typical conservative.  When backed into a corner, you can't support your irrational mindset.

[kevabuc]

Are all of those 10 million people taking hostages by gunpoint?

Of course not.  There are those that work for the warlords or those starving to death as well.  There are also the fishermen who's industry is being completely decimated by foreign nations because they don't have the weaponry or viable world voice to stop it.  Geeze, why would anyone want to steal for a living???


You conservatives can throw out stupid buzzwords like "bleeding heart", but it doesn't hide the fact that you are exhibiting black and white thinking, which is a clear indication of an uneducated opinion.  You and your kind like to view the world as black and white, right or wrong, A or B, while anyone with any real knowledge about the world knows that issues such as these lie in gray areas.  People like you (aka spoiled, ignorant Americans) like to pass judgement on issues you cannot possibly fathom as you've likely never had face even 10% of the struggles these people have.  

Not that I honestly believe you're reachable (your posts here clearly show a closed mindset) but consider this:  have you ever compromised your own personal ethics, even to a small degree, in the pursuit of money/survival/success/etc?  

I sympathize with these pirates, because I'm honest.  If it were me, I too would be taking matters into my own hands rather than waiting around to either starve to death or be killed by warlords.  I can't fault them, because I know deep down, I'd do whatever it took to insure my survival. Ethics and morality are but a philosophical luxury that the haves can debate at nausem...they have no bearing on reality of human survival.

So, you support, believe and defend Trickle Down Economics then.

[Biggs3535]

Stealing bread at gunpoint...LMFAO...

[dalbuc]

Why not just stop travelling the waters that are known for pirates? 

So the problem for people who get robbed is that they live in areas where there are criminals and not with the criminals?

[dalbuc]

Of course not.  There are those that work for the warlords or those starving to death as well.  There are also the fishermen who's industry is being completely decimated by foreign nations because they don't have the weaponry or viable world voice to stop it.  Geeze, why would anyone want to steal for a living???


You conservatives can throw out stupid buzzwords like "bleeding heart", but it doesn't hide the fact that you are exhibiting black and white thinking, which is a clear indication of an uneducated opinion.  You and your kind like to view the world as black and white, right or wrong, A or B, while anyone with any real knowledge about the world knows that issues such as these lie in gray areas.  People like you (aka spoiled, ignorant Americans) like to pass judgement on issues you cannot possibly fathom as you've likely never had face even 10% of the struggles these people have.  

Have they attacked any fishing vessels. I know there was an article about it but have they attacked these mythical fishing ships or garbage scows?

As for the "black and white" I give you -- There are some ideas so wrong that only a very intelligent person could believe in them. --- George Orwell . Black and white isn't "simple". Often it is right. The ability to see past obscuring notions to the heart of the matter is easier than just seeing the durface. Smart people intra-war saw the Nazis as a legitimate repsonse to an aggrieved Germany - reparations, partition, demiliatarization, loss of colonies, etc. That's all good and well getting lost in all that rationalization like a smart person obscures the fundamental wrongness of the solution to their "issues.

[Scholty]

Guess I came late to the party but just read the last two pages on this thread.

What we have here is a failure to communicate.  Both sides have 'a' point in some of the things they have brought to the table.

IF you want to stop piracy you have to look at the situation of the whole country.

Somalia itself has turned into Chaos.  There is no real government so it has become a society where the strong survive.  People with the biggest guns etc. etc..

In the north you have the Republic of Somalialand a breakaway faction of northern clans has declared its independence and seems to be the most stable force in the country.  They are trying to build a constitutional democracy and are even holding elections on all levels.  However, since they are a breakaway republic they are not being recognized by any other countries except Ethiopia for which they provide access to ports etc.. Since they are trying to secede I don't think they are the answer.

Then you have the TGF - Transitional Federal Government that is now SLOWLY trying to gain power by working with all the different factions.  President Sharif was elected in February of this year is an islamist that is Libyan educated and agreed to have Sharia law implemented in order to placate Islamic insurgents.  So far I have mixed feelings about him because I just don't know enough about him to find out where he stands.  Since Osama Bin Laden is calling on hard line islamists to overthrow his government however he could be one of the good guys.

So do we support Sharif and his government not knowing if we create a whole new problem?  If so 'HOW?' since Somalis HATE the idea of ANY foreign troops being in Somalia.  Help him build a military/police force that is actually able to stabilize things and take out the 'warlords'?    They are the biggest problem right now towards ANY solution in this whole mess.  Since business in Somalia itself has gotten tough they have taken to the seas and become Pirates.

Couple of things that have surprise me though, did you guys know that Somalia has one of the most advanced Telecommunication networks in all of Africa?  They have the cheapest international rates of any other country (Guess long talks with hostage negotiators in other countries will do that).   They are sitting on quite a bit of natural resources and could really be prosperous if you would have a leader that had some firepower that could unite the people behind him and take on these warlords.

Or are there any lovable warlords out there that could actually be POSITIVE for the country if supported?

[dalbuc]

Couple of things that have surprise me though, did you guys know that Somalia has one of the most advanced Telecommunication networks in all of Africa?

Yeah because they have basically destroyed their legacy telecom infrastructure and everything they have is now "new" -- until they blow that up

Somalia is in trouble but there's really no external solution. Iraq isn't easy but that is a cakewalk compared to these guys - even the Afghans are ahead of these guys right now and that tells you how bad it it.

[JavaBuc]

Just for fun, I checked out an African dating site and searched for Somalian chicks.  There were only about 30 girls from Somalia and this was the only one to post a picture.   Hot!

   

[GhostRider]

Just for fun, I checked out an African dating site and searched for Somalian chicks. There were only about 30 girls from Somalia and this was the only one to post a picture. Hot!

Damn, dawg, I'm all over that!

[John Galt?]

LMAO at Seeking: Male Age 18-80

[kevabuc]

LMAO at Seeking: Male Age 18-80

Damn, I'm 81 and really needed that new tablecloth.